8/11/99

Sam Newman: That you are a cockscomb and a bore. Weak, vain, pushing, curious and garrulous is obvious to those who know you. That you cannot reason, have no wit, no humour or no eloquence is apparent from your writing and the crap that you speak with it. Nature has made you a slave and an idolater.

Richo: so that pale, pathetic imitation of what Stuart Littlemore's program used to be decided to give itself some publicity in its first show of the year and bucket Ray Martin by basically tossing away its ethics...

(2GB, 17/03/99, Graham Richardson)

Richard Ackland: It's uplifting to be lectured about ethics by Richo.

Ray Martin found a natural outlet on the Richo program to give us a bit of a tongue lashing about Safran's romp...

Martin: similarly Ackland is this hypocrite who points the finger at radio, television, newspapers and magazines and asks they lift their game. He tells only half the story ...

Richo: I don't think he'll ever again lecture anyone on ethics and not be taken seriously.

(2GB, 17/03/99, Graham Richardson)

Richard Ackland: Richo got a bit muddled up there, but we catch his drift.

Mike Gibson on 2GB was fortunate enough to have his thoughts straightened out by Ray's wife, Dianne, in an impromptu phone call.

Gibson: And we go to North Sydney for our first call on this ah, subject. 131873. Dianne, good morning.

Dianne: Good morning Mike.

Gibson: Yes.

Dianne: Yes. I believe you know who I am...

(2GB, 17/03/99, Mike Gibson)

Richard Ackland: Mrs Martin was ropeable.

Dianne: ... How intrusive do you think it is, when some idiot is on, not outside on the street, Mike. If you'll get again your facts straight. He conned his way up, saying there was an urgent delivery from a Mr Hurley from ACA, so me, being so stupid, let the idiot in.

(2GB, 17/03/99, Mike Gibson)

Richard Ackland: There was a lot of stupidity about. But Mike Gibson put his finger rather elegantly on the point about A Current Affair's record in the human damage department.

Gibson: I think the damage that program has done to so many people over the years, what damage, if any, has been done to you is but a piddle in the Pacific.

(2GB, 17/03/99, Mike Gibson)

Richard Ackland: But let's not forget how Darwinians saw the year.

As other front pages were distracted by the NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, the Northern Territory News had another scoop.

"Woman tells of croc terror"

Big saltie lunged at her.

(NT News, 10/05/99, p1)

Richard Ackland: It's the reptile imperative.

A Four Corners report we examined raised the issue of putting lives at risk. It involved East Timorese militia men, who made it quite clear they were afraid of the consequences of being filmed.

East Timorese militia man: If you're filming they'll come and beat us to death. We're meant to be guarding here. You can't film. [subtitled]

Davis: All right, I'll leave you. I'm sorry, I didn't realise.

(FOUR Corners 15/3/99, ex Media Watch ep3)

Richard Ackland: The original report hadn't masked their faces. When we asked why not, Four Corners said it had made a risk assessment.

But reporter Mark Davis was cranky and wrote an open letter about it:

Dear Arseholes,

The reason I did not mask their faces, as you suggested, is that I regarded the use of such a device in those particular circumstances as a gutless tabloid trick.

I made a genuine assessment of their safety - you did not...

If any of you ever graduate to making real stories , god help anyone who is subjected to your naive notions of how to protect the people you are filming.

(Open Letter to Media Watch from Mark Davis)

Richard Ackland: We got into strife with the editor of Melbourne's Age, Michael Gawenda. We had suggested that the Melbourne media had been running soft on premier Jeff Kennett. We said all sorts of beastly things. Among them we pointed to the pre-election space The Age found for young Angus Kennett's dairy:

London my way

By Angus Kennett

Tuesday 6 July

Twelve hours before my flight to old London town and haven't packed a thing.

(The Age, 08/09/99, ex Media Watch Ep 26/99)

Richard Ackland: Certainly there are some good journalists doing a sterling job, but our comment at the time was...

Ackland: Mr Kennett has largely tamed the main media. News breakthroughs which are critical of the Kennett government do not receive strong encouragement from the upper echelons.

(ABC Media Watch Ep 26/99)

Richard Ackland: Mr Gawenda's response was fairly direct.

Dear Richard,

Your piece on the media's coverage of the Victorian election was crap and I believe you know it...

(The Age memo ex Gawenda to Ackland)

Richard Ackland: Crikey! That from a paper where the senior people spent so much time sucking up to Mr Kennett that they missed the massive swing against him!

Meanwhile, the Northern Territory was wrestling with major news:

"Monster croc ate my dog"

A yelp and that was it.

(NT News, 01/06/99, p1)

Richard Ackland: Media Watch has had its fair share of botches throughout the year.

Take our story on Mr Laws and the banks. There was a shocker of an error that for one viewer shredded the story of any credibility.

It concerned that spontaneous phone call from Tony Aveling of the Bankers' Association to Lawsie, the piece of artifice that changed the course of history.

Perhaps you might have to take some sort of radical action like employing someone with basic literacy skills.

(Viewer letter to Media Watch, 26/05/99)

Richard Ackland: That brought us down to earth.

It's good to see 2UE broadcaster Mike Carlton coming out of the closet on the Laws' fiasco. When the controversy over cash for comments first exploded, Carlton had joined the cheer squad for his mate:

Much of the preaching about John Laws and 2UE - much of the holier than thou shining halo around the head stuff is coming from the ABC...

(Ex Media Watch, Ep 19, 26/7/99)

Richard Ackland: Mr Carlton has subsequently struck a different chord. Last week he noted the super natural profits achieved by the ANZ and National Australia Bank and waxed to a familiar theme:

Carlton: But we know how it happens. They all do it by cutting services, closing branches, sacking staff and getting rid of customers who aren't making a buck for 'em. That's the whole story. Hello?

Aveling type voice: It's Tony Aveling here from the Australian Bankers' Association, Mike. Just thought I give a bit of a ring, have a bit of a ...

Carlton: Very nice of you to ring Tony what can I do for you? This is a surprise...

Aveling type voice: Well I just thought we might be able to come to some arrangement with you. We could have a bit of a chat about the banks.

Carlton: [laughs] I don't think so.(2UE, 04/11/99, Mike Carlton)

Richard Ackland: Carlton must feel it's now safe to send up the stablemate he once fulsomely defended.

Media Watch made a bit of a blue with our story about Marina Go. Her husband rushed to tell us.

Marina is the queen bee of the glossies from the Pacific Publications stable. Our story showed how Ms Marina acted contrary to normal journalistic protocols. She vetted a profile written about her for the Australian's 'Media' section:

Ackland: Go saw things she didn't like. She e-mailed the section's assistant editor with changes she wanted made to the story.

"Changes to be made to the Australian story."

(Media Watch Ep 31/99)

Richard Ackland: Hubby Graham, who works at the Australian had slipped her a copy of the story in the first place. We got a pretty upsetting fax from him:

What a grubby little program yours has become.

Much worse than the tabloids you purport to watch over.

(It was made clear to two researchers that Marina had nothing to do with any e-mail.)

(Fax from Graham Pringle to Media Watch)

Richard Ackland: Quite right too. It was Marina's PR princess who e-mailed the corrections that Marina had penned.

We are a grubby little program, and we're covered in remorse. All in the pursuit of truth and light.

Anyway, we did come a cropper with the Herald Sun in Melbourne, over a story we did on how other media reported the Sixty Minutes investigation of Paul Keating's piggery deals.

Ackland: The Herald Sun, The Advertiser and The Mercury all in the stable of the sun king didn't report the 60 Minutes allegations on the Monday either.

Richard Ackland: A bit of a muck up there.

The country edition of the Hun hadn't run the story - but other editions did - as Editor Peter Blunden was quick to point out.

The Herald Sun published a comprehensive account of the Keating allegations in our main edition on the Monday morning after 60 Minutes.

(Herald Sun, letter Peter Blunden to RA, 30/03/99)

Richard Ackland: And there it was: Page one pointer:

"Keating accused"

(Herald Sun, 22/03/99, p1)

Richard Ackland: Page two story:

"Keating's $4m pig profit"

(Herald Sun, 22/03/99, p2).

Richard Ackland: Sorry Pete. Sorry Hun.

On the issue of missing stories, The Northern Territory News doesn't miss a trick. At the very time the rest of us were immersed in GST wranglings, the N.T. News had another award winning yarn...

"Croc attacks nude bather"

Hands mauled but he escapes.

(NT News, 23/06/99, p1)

Richard Ackland: There are some stories we brought you where small but pertinent repercussions have followed.

One of the things Media Watch did this year was get its own digicam and take it out so we could record the media recording the stories.

This is how the rat-pack looked when they staked out the house in which John Lewthwaite was living after his release from prison.

Female bystander: You look like bloodhounds. I know he did wrong that man, but why you, why you...

Harry Potter: Tell that to the mother of the little girl who died.

(Media Watch Ep15/99)

Richard Ackland: It was the Daily Telegraph which was particularly rabid. it campaigned in its news stories:

"Keep this murderer in his cage"

(Tele, 07/06/99, p9; ex Media Watch Ep15/99)

Richard Ackland: The man who put Lewthwaite up in his Waterloo home was among those who complained to the press council about the Tele. And last week there was an interesting finding.

"Press Council ruling upheld"

In this case the paper's reporting was unduly influenced by editorial opinion.

(Tele, 04/11/99, p20)

Richard Ackland: In other words keep your hairy opinions out of the news pages.

And who can forget the fabulous Channel Nine camera tape which showed the true greeting desert wanderer Robert Bogucki received?

After 40 days in the desert he had the misfortune to be found by A Current Affair.

Man #1: I thought bloody channel 7 were the winners.

Man #2: Bad luck, we're the winners now - extra bonus for you.

Ackland: And a reward for Mr Bogucki too.

Man to Bogucki: You can eat that banana if you want

(ACA Camera Tape, ex MW Ep24/99)

Richard Ackland: The tape showed a tired and hungry man asked to perform for the camera:

Ackland: He obligingly drank for the camera ... And then was asked:

Camera man: So is there water down here?

Bogucki: Yeah there's water down here.

Camera man: Can we just go down and have a look at the water?

...

Bogucki: There's the water. You guys want a drink?

Ackland: And they let the starving man stagger up the hill unassisted most of the way.

(ACA, Camera Tape, MW Ep24/99)

Richard Ackland: Citizens complained to Channel Nine about its treatment of Mr Bogucki.

One angry couple wrote to Channel Nine in Sydney and in Perth.

We are writing to express our extreme disapproval of your network's actions in the 'rescue' of Robert Bogucki.

(Letter from Ken and Kristine Dutt to Channel 9)

Richard Ackland: From each outpost they received quite different responses.

Channel Nine Perth was pretty tetchy.

At no time was Mr Bogucki endangered, and at no time were the Nine news and A Current Affair crew irresponsible.

Richard Ackland: It was really Media Watch which had behaved badly.

Perhaps your lecture on the ethics of our profession could be redirected to Media Watch. The program fails the test of probity it imposes on others.

Yours truly,

Brian Rogers

Director of News

(Channel 9 Perth, letter to Mr & Mrs Dutt, 03/09/99)

Richard Ackland: Thanks Brian.

The same complainants received a quite different reply from the Executive Producer of A Current Affair, David Hurley.

Thankyou for your letter...

I do think our crew made misjudgments ... But we can't have our time over ...and we need to learn from those mistakes.

(A Current Affair, letter 08/09/99)

Richard Ackland: A noble response from Hurley Burley on behalf of his reptiles.

In September came news of Australian soldiers being shot at in Timor. But in Darwin the local tissue was more interested in putting an end to its own source of terror:

"Gotcha"

4.5 m croc attacked fisherman.

(NT News 24/9/99)

Richard Ackland: It was just as well. The NT News had begun to tire of the big croc scare in August when its front page was captivated by:

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water: Monster fish bites woman"

(NT News, 13/8/99)

Richard Ackland: The road kill of journalists is yet to be tallied.

But at least someone has come up with an antidote to journalism. It's contained in a fascinating letter that's emerged from the broadcasting authority inquiry.

Mr Laws wrote through his lawyers to radio station 2UE's boss, Mr Conde. He was fobbing off requests for more information about his A-list of clients revealed on Media Watch in March last year.

The lawyers told Conde that Mr Laws:

Has chosen not to rise to the bait presented by Ackland who has been known to our client for many years as being antagonistic towards him... Our client wishes to simply ignore the Programme and not to give it any recognition.

(Hunt & Hunt, 24/03/99)

Richard Ackland: That's the best policy. Ignore it, and it will all go away.